Vegan Strawberry Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars

5 from 5 votes

Vegan Strawberry Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars

With these Vegan Strawberry Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars, your taste buds will enjoy a bold balance between the sweetness and tartness of the strawberries tied with a nice crunch from the rolled oats and soft, nutty flavored body from the peanut butter, oatmeal, and almond flour.

Prep Time15

Cook Time35

Total Time50

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Keyword: baked, Berries, breakfast, chewy, cinnamon, classic, crumble, dairy-free, dessert, easy, gluten-free, healthy, homemade, indulge, natural, oats, peanut butter, plant-based, recipe, soft, southern, spring, strawberry, summer, sweet, tart, traditional, vegan

Servings: bars

Calories: 250kcal

Author: Shanika

Ingredients

OATMEAL BARS:

1 ½ cups 1-to-1 Gluten-Free Baking flour (See Notes!)
1 cup organic rolled oats, GF-friendly
½ cup organic brown sugar
¼ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 Tbsps vegan peanut butter, softened
6 Tbsps vegan butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (See Notes!)

HOMEMADE STRAWBERRY JAM:

2-3 cups Strawberries, fresh or frozen
½ cup organic cane sugar
1 teaspoon juice of a lemon
¼ cup filtered water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tsps arrowroot starch + 2 Tbsps WARM water

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

To start, preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line a regular 8 x 8 inch square baking pan with parchment paper.

TO MAKE THE STRAWBERRY JAM:

Combine strawberries, cane sugar, lemon juice, water, and vanilla extract in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer until the strawberries are soft.
Now in a small bowl, mix together arrowroot starch with warm water until well combined and lump-free. Add mixture to saucepan with strawberries and stir until syrup thickens and reduced slightly, approximately 8-10 minutes, Continue to stir occasionally. Remove from heat and let cool completely.

TO MAKE THE OATMEAL BARS:

In a medium bowl, combine the rolled oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and sea salt, whisking ingredients together. Add in melted butter, vanilla, and softened peanut butter and using a spatula, stir everything together until fully incorporated and evenly moistened. **NOTE: Your batter will look a bit crumbly and wet; that's fine!**

ASSEMBLE:

Scooping only half of the ingredients into the prepared pan, press down evenly until nicely evened. Now, add cooled strawberry jam atop even layer. Now, sprinkle the remaining ½ of the crumble mixture, until everything is evenly coated and gently press everything on top for an even top layer.

BAKE EVERYTHING:

Bake the bars for 30-35 minutes, until the strawberries are bubbling through and the tops look golden brown and crisp.
Once done, remove from the oven and let it cool completely, about 30 minutes or so before lifting the parchment paper on the sides from the baking pan and cooling them completely on a cooling rack. NOTE: For a better 'second cool', you can place the bars in the refrigerator for an hour or so.
To serve, cut everything into square bars and enjoy!
Bon Appetit!

Notes

STORAGE: Refrigerate leftover bars for up to 3 days in a tightly sealed container for optimal freshness.
FREEZE: Simply wrap bars tightly in plastic wrap or an air tight container and thaw them when ready to eat.
THICKER BARS: For a nice thickness of bars, simply DOUBLE the ingredients.
SWEETENER: If you choose to opt out of cane sugar, you can always substitute with pure maple syrup or Agave as well. Just add more flour + oats to avoid batter from being too wet.
STACRH/THICKENER: If you don’t have or don’t want to use Arrowroot starch, you can always use Tapioca Flour, regular Cornstarch, or flour instead. Either substitution will help to thicken the mixture just fine.

Nutrition